secrets - peter parker

t h i r t e e n

"Do you want to go out with me?"

Taking in the sight in front of me, a flustered looking Peter with anticipation yet courage in his eyes, it was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth.

But it was about time. I didn't like to admit things to myself. Especially petty feelings and nonsense. However, I couldn't deny that over the past few weeks, I'd seen Peter in a different light; and I liked it.

"Um, yeah." A smile stretched across Peter's visage to which I mirrored. For a mere second he looked like he was at a loss of words, as if not expecting the answer I gave.

"Great! So whenever you're free just..."

"I'm free now?" I shrugged. The only thing I had planned for my evening was eating my way through comfort food.

"Now, now's perfect." His eyes gleamed, his smile never leaving his face.

"I'll be ready in like five minutes."

He nodded with a small chuckle, nervously smacking his hands together. But I was certain that after I shut my door, I wasn't the only one smiling like an idiot on the other side.

~

I hadn't been on many dates in my lifetime. Most of the guys I dated turned out to be complete jerks who thought that taking me to the most expensive restaurant in town would make up for it.

It was part of the reason I admired Peter. He didn't care for a show of money or expensive food to please me. Instead, we settled for a walk around Central Park.

Various trees glittered as fairy lights hung off their beaches and the scene was peaceful, yet the bustle of the city was still existent at this time of night.

Although me and Peter had hung out before, this time was different and we both knew it. It's probably what made me that nervous.

"C'mon, that's not true."

"It is." Peter laughed. "You don't want to know how many detentions and absences I've had this year."

"What happened? You were like the perfect student." Our arms occasionally brushing against each other as we walked side by side down the path.

"It's complicated." He looked down at his feet. At first I thought it had something to do with Uncle Ben, but that wouldn't explain why he was missing school. I concluded that Peter wasn't as black and white as I thought. He was becoming the embodiment of complicated.

Among the mild traffic we could hear from inside the park, I couple of police sirens were sounded in the near distance, almost as if there was a car chase.

"Hey," Peter pulled me towards a bench under an oak tree. I thought I knew where the situation was going, but I couldn't have been more wrong. "Wait here, I'll go get us some ice cream."

"But I don't want any..." However, he was gone before I could finish the sentence. Maybe he just really wanted ice cream?

So, I sat patiently on the bench staring to feel a warm breeze come along. Glancing up at the darkened sky, from the movement of the grumbling grey clouds, I could have guessed that it was going to rain. Perfect.

Five minutes passed, then twelve, and then thirty. That's when Peter approached me, slightly out of breath and flushed in the face as if he'd been running, and not to mention his tousled hair.

"I'm so sorry." He took a seat next to me on the bench. "The line was huge."

At his words, I felt a little pain in my chest. I had a strange feeling that he had lied to me but I didn't know why. If there was one thing I absolutely hated, it was liars.  But I had nothing to go off here, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"That's okay." I smiled softly, and then as if on cue, heavy rain unleashed just as expected.

We turned to each other with our faces scrunched up under the heavy downpour, then we both fell into fits of laughter at the sight of each other.

"Oh my god." I placed my arms over my head, which was pointless because my clothes soaked in seconds.

Peter laughed, his matted hair falling over his eyes as rain drops trailed down his cheekbones and chin. Then he looked up and opened his mouth wide, like a kid trying to drink the rain water.

The damage is done, I thought. Whether it was the spontaneous rain, or Peter's infectious laugh, my inner child too came out that night. I mirrored Peter's movement and stuck my tongue out at the sky, letting the salty water hit my taste buds. I could feel Peter's eyes on me as he emitted a joyful laugh, just about heard under the bullet like drops that hit the ground and grass around us. Both of us sitting there in the midst of the shower, laughing like we had not a care in the world was the happiest I had been in a long time.

"C'mon!" he shouted over the rain, pulling my hand into his and lacing our fingers together. Next thing I knew, we were running through the park towards a large willow tree by the lake. He took us under the long flowery vines of the tree where only a few raindrops trickled down.

"If I catch a cold it's all on you." My lips stretched into a smile, trying to adjust my soggy jeans, and pushing my damp hair out of my face, slipping my hand out of his grasp.

"Well then, let's make sure that doesn't happen." He shrugged off his wet zip hoodie and wrapped it around my small form.

"This might actually increase my chances." Nevertheless, it was sweet of him to do so.

Peter frantically began to fix his hair, realising that it was becoming curly under the humid and wet weather. Personally, I thought it looked cute, but I wouldn't let him know that.

He groaned, but I was focused on his biceps which looked even better now that he was just wearing a t-shirt.

"This is hopeless." He mumbled to himself. I could see he was getting a little frustrated so I stepped closer.

"Here, let me help." With a defeated sigh, his arms fell to his sides in agreement.

Reaching up, I used my fingers to softly comb through his locks. Then I ruffled his hair, giving him a wild and untamed look. He grabbed a hold of my wrists and pulled them down below my face.

"I knew you were up to something." He smirked.

"I think it suits you." I giggled, blinking under the few drops that landed on my eyelashes and trickled down he sides of my face.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled, "You think this is funny, huh?"

I dipped my head into a nod, biting down on my lip at our close proximity. His glance averted down and within a second, he'd pulled me closer by my wrists until his lips landed on mine.